Alone No More
by Witch-of-the-Forest
Summary: Once again, it was going to be a pretty lonely Christmas for Neville. That all changes with a knock at the door. Written for Mrs. Lupin's Holiday Fanfic prompt on the Facebook page, Sirius Black is a beautiful man. Read and review!


_****Hello everyone! I know that I should be updating "An Unexpected Place," but one of my fellow admins on the Facebook page, Sirius Black is a beautiful man posted this up on our page. So this is my entry for the prompt. Hope you enjoy it!  
><em>

_Disclaimer: The Harry Potter universe belongs to the wonder that is J.K. Rowling! I own nothing, not even 0.0000001% of that world!  
><em>

* * *

><p><em><strong>Oh I won't ask for much this Christmas<strong>_

_**I won't even wish for snow**_

_**And I'm just gonna keep on waiting**_

_**Underneath the mistletoe**_

The song blared out of the Muggle stereo and managed to further dampen Neville's mood. Alas, it was that time of year again where the shops and houses were filled with lights; the streets were covered with snow and the mailbox was filled with letters to a present-baring old man named Santa. While it was a time for joy, Neville was feeling anything but. He was alone on Christmas Eve. His only comfort was Christmas tree neatly decorated with reds and gold (for Gryffindor) and the cosy fire that crackled away. It didn't have to be this way. Neville had received several invitations to spend Christmas at the Burrow; one even came from the Weasley matriarch herself. But with all of the Weasley's, friends and work colleagues, Neville doubted there would be much room for him even if Molly insisted that there was.

So here he was. Sitting in his living room, his thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door. Neville looked at the small clock on the fireplace which read 9:45pm.

"Who could that be at this time of night? And on Christmas Eve of all days?" Neville muttered to himself. The person at the door was persistent as the knocking continuingly sounded throughout the house.

"Alright! I'm coming!" Neville shouted at them while fumbling with the latch on the door. Expecting to see a shock of red hair and questioning as to why he wasn't at their house, he was shocked to find bright blonde instead of ginger.

"Hello Neville!" his best friend and secret crush of about 5 years, Luna Lovegood exclaimed happily to him.

"Oh! Hi, Luna. Umm… what brings you here?"

"Well, it is Christmas and no one should be alone at this time of year," she said with a bright smile. Realising they were having this conversation in the freezing cold, Neville ushered her into living room and placed her next to the fire.

"Oh! Your tree looks lovely, Neville. And in Gryffindor colours too," she admired. A blush threatened to pass Neville's neck and secure itself on his cheeks.

"Uh… thanks." While Neville bustled around in the kitchen making some hot chocolate, he was going through in his mind what to say to her. It was obvious to everyone but her that Neville had been harbouring feelings for her since their time in Dumbledore's Army. While some of his friends thought that she was an oddball, he found her strange habits and views quite endearing. They made her unique. Just as Neville was toiling with the idea of enchanting some mistletoe to appear in the living room, he spotted Luna wandering around in the corridor, gazing up at the ceiling.

"Uh… Everything alright?" He stammered.

"Everything is perfect. I was just looking to see if you had any mistletoe hanging up. Infested with nargles, don't you know? I wouldn't want them to become a pest to you." Well, there goes that idea.

Neville brought their mugs into the living room and they made themselves comfy on the sofa.

"I would have thought you would be at the Burrow," Neville struck up conversation.

"Oh, I was. Ginny told me that you were unable to come and I knew that you would be alone. The house was pretty full so I went into the garden to see if I could find any Gnomes. They are good for luck, gnomes are. I don't know why the Weasley's insist on throwing them over the fence. I couldn't find any, unfortunately. I then made the decision to come and visit you," Luna explained, matter-of-factly.

Wow…

"Uh… well, I'm… glad you did."

"Oh! Me too! You're much better company than Gnomes." Neville had to chuckle at that. The Muggle stereo began to splutter and Neville stood up to find a better signal. Just his luck, the new station he found was playing the same song from before.

_**Oh I won't ask for much this Christmas**_

_**I won't even wish for snow**_

_**And I'm just gonna keep on waiting**_

_**Underneath the mistletoe**_

Neville was half-expecting a comment about nargles at that lyric, but was surprised to find Luna swaying to-and-fro, in time with the song.

"I love this song," she murmured, dreamily. Neville cleared his throat,

"Yeah… s'not bad."

"Neville?" Neville turned his head to look into her dreamy blue eyes.

"Why did you want to be alone on Christmas?"

"The Burrow was too crowded… and the only other option was… St. Mungos…" Neville whispered the last part.

"Your parents? I'm sure they would have loved to see you."

'Too depressing. Knowing that they don't even know what the day was.

"Still… I think they would have appreciated the visit. I know! I'll come with you tomorrow. That way, I can meet them too!" Luna said, enthusiastically.

"Really? You would be happy to spend Christmas Day with a bore like me at St. Mungos."

"Oh Neville! You're not boring and I'm here now aren't I? Really, Neville. You do come out with the strangest things," she commented, smiling. He surprised himself by having the courage to pick up her hand.

"Thank you, Luna. This just might be turning into the best Christmas ever." She placed her other hand on top of his and rested her head against his shoulder.

"See what a bit of company can do. And you can be reassured that you won't have any nargles bothering you." Neville could do nothing but laugh and breathe in the moment of being so close to her.

"Neville?"

"Hmm?"

"You're very welcome."

Maybe Christmas would bring him some joy after all.

* * *

><p>Constructive criticism is welcome!<br>Happy Christmas everyone! xxx


End file.
